Petrichor
by hikarinomori
Summary: "Tomorrow is promised to no one." In a world where only pokémon exist, an umbreon travels alone in search of a way to save his sister from her terminal condition. Legendary pokémon, miracle cures. Whatever it took. However, little did he know just what he would get himself into on his journey...
1. Chapter 1

**Petrichor**

 _Chapter One_

* * *

 _It was a cold, quiet winter's night. The sky was a mass of grey clouds, yet no rain dared to fall. A wind blew throughout a nearby forest, causing branches to sway and leaves to rustle. The river that ran through it reflected from the moon whatever light it could through those dark clouds, the water steadily flowing as it carried the remnants of a storm far away. The river continued out of the forest and into a small lake where a bustling port town resided, overlooking a large snow-capped mountain range that stood ominously in the distance._

 _The town lanterns were lit, and, despite the hour being close to midnight, various pokémon still strolled the streets going to and from their various forms of nightly entertainment. The port town wasn't too large – but it also wasn't too small, either. Every town had to have a tavern for the weary traveller. This town was certainly no exception..._

In front of the tavern, there sat an umbreon. Disinterested eyes scanned the building as he listened to the sounds that emitted from within, muffled yet still irritating. He let out a sigh at the empty feeling in his stomach. _I could probably just go out and hunt, but..._ he looked out towards the forest and grasslands in disdain. _I'm too lazy and tired for that. I guess I'll have to put up with the noise._ With slight hesitation, he walked over to the entrance and took a deep breath before walking inside.

When he entered, he was met with the much louder, less-muffled sound of obnoxiously jovial music and hearty cheers from the crowd of customers that sat at tables in a ring around the stage. His eyes focused on a stairwell in the corner of the room and a light smile graced his lips. After deftly making his way through the crowd and up the staircase, he found a quiet booth in the corner. The sounds of merrymaking downstairs floated up past the balcony - but it was far more diminished, giving the umbreon at least some level of comfort. Sitting down in the booth at the table, he undid the red knapsack that he wore around his neck and placed it down in front of him as an espeon walked up to his table.

"Yo, traveller," she said with a smile on her face as he looked up at her. "What can I do for you this evening?" she asked sweetly.

"Are you still serving food?" he asked, to which she nodded. "May I please have a menu?"

"That you can, one moment, dear," she replied, her smile ever present. After a second she returned with the menu floating beside her before placing it down on the table.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem, can I get you anything to drink whilst you think about your order?" she then asked.

"Water, please."

"No worries." With that, she left him with the menu.

He took a look at the list of very delicious-sounding foodstuffs, like roast tauros with gravy and sautéed farfetch'd, but realised that he probably shouldn't have any cooked meats, considering he lived off either the dried meats from pokémon he'd previously hunted or just ate raw meat in general. He shrugged off the delicious cooked meals and moved his eyes down to the raw section that most restaurants and taverns included to cater to most of the civilised class of pokémon. He eyed his favourite; slowpoke, and licked his lips just thinking about the fatty, juicy meat.

"Have you decided?" the voice of the espeon broke his lapse in concentration. He looked up at her and smiled awkwardly as a bowl of water floated onto the table. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"What level is your slowpoke rated as?" he asked.

"Thirty to forty," she replied promptly. "Is that acceptable, sir?"

"Yes, thanks," he replied. "Can I get a plate of raw slowpoke filet then, please?"

"Yep, that'll be out shortly, dear, is there anything else?"

"No, thanks."

"No worries," she said, before she once more picked up the menu with her _psychic_ , a common use of the move, then turned and left him. He watched as she left, feeling his stomach rumble. He then took to the knapsack on the table, pulling out a map and spreading it out onto the table. He peered at it scrutinisingly, his eyes washing over every inch as he pondered what he should do. "What's that?" the espeon's voice startled him once more. _This espeon is really starting to get on my nerves,_ he thought.

"A map," he plainly stated.

"Where are you headed?" she then asked, sitting down in the booth opposite him. _Great._

"Not really sure..." he trailed off, turning his attention back to the map. "Shouldn't you be serving other pokémon?" he asked plainly, hoping she would get the hint. She gave a sigh.

"Sorry..." she murmured. "I don't mean to intrude, I'm just on my break and you're the first guy in a while who's been any kind of polite to me... you look like you're a traveller, so I just thought I might be able to help you if you're wanting to get somewhere..." she trailed off, looking down. "I can leave if you don't want me here."

He looked up at her again, seeing the fleeting hope in her eyes as he remembered all the pokémon downstairs. _It must be pretty degrading working here..._ he thought. _Townsfolk are all kinds of inappropriate nowadays._ "No, that's fine... I suppose I could use your help," he said and he could instantly see her light up. _If those customers downstairs are anything to go by, she mustn't get many chances to properly talk to new pok_ _é_ _mon._

"Absolutely, no problem," she replied cheerfully. "Firstly, you can call me Charlie. What's your name and where are you from?"

"Yuki. I've lived in the mountains not too far from here for the majority of my life," he told her.

"You mean Mt. Silver!?" she asked with an incredulous look on her face. "Aren't those mountains dangerous?"

"Sure, but it's really not that bad once you're used to it..." he trailed off. "Anyway, do you think you could help me out?" he then asked and she quickly nodded.

"Oh, yes, yes! Sorry, I got sidetracked," she replied with a chuckle. "What are you after?"

"Well... I'm in need of a healing ability," he told her, taking a breath. "Not something like heal bell – I need something with immense power... like a miracle, even..."

"Oh? Whatever for?" she asked, a curious expression on her face. He raised his brow and she let out a sigh. "Okay, sorry... but, there haven't been stories of legendary pokémon appearing for quite a while now... I'm not sure I know of something other than a legendary or mythical pokémon having the kind of power it sounds like you're needing..." she trailed off as she thought before her eyes began to widen. "Hold on... I think not too long ago, I heard a rumour about the tournament in Nova..." she trailed off and Yuki leaned in with a curious expression on his face.

"What about a tournament in Nova?" he asked.

"So," she began, leaning in also as she lowered her voice, "in the city of Nova, there's this huge colosseum that hosts a tournament every month. Apparently, the winner gets any single wish they desire granted to them. Rumour has it that the people who run the tournament... found Jirachi and imprisoned it, forcing it to make the champion's wishes come true," she told him and his eyes widened.

"Can you point Nova out to me on my map?" he then asked and she nodded, moving to place her paw on the map.

"It's about three days walk from here, or about a day by carriage – or if you're loaded you can get there in a couple of hours by flying," she added. "There are a couple of taverns and inns I can suggest along the way-"

"No, thanks," he cut her off with a polite smile. "I don't have a need to waste money on taverns or inns." _The remaining money from Aunt Betha's travels that she gave me is only going to get me so far,_ he thought to himself. "But thank you for the offer. Is there anything I should be aware of on my way there?" he then asked.

"Apart from the chance of happening upon some bandits – which doesn't normally happen around this area anymore – nothing much else," she answered. "So... where are you staying tonight?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

"Well... I was probably going to camp out in the forest nearby," he murmured, wondering where she was going with this.

"You know... you could stay at mine for the night... if you want?" she suggested.

"You don't need to do that," he told her with a slight smile, hiding his increasing heartbeat. "I prefer to sleep outside, anyway. In the mountains, I don't live in any buildings... you see..." he trailed off.

"Yeah, I figured as much..." she muttered, disappointed. "Well-"

"Charlie... do you think I pay you to flirt?" a stern, yet calm voice came from the stairwell. Both the eeveelutions turned to see a lucario at the entrance with a plate of what seemed to be Yuki's dinner, a plain look on its face.

"Sorry, sir," Charlie apologised before she turned back to Yuki, with a smile. "Cheers for the chat, Yuki, I hope I've been helpful. Let me know if you change your mind," she told him with a wink before quickly walking over to the stairs, ignoring the lucario as she rushed down to the first floor.

"I'm sorry, she told me she was on her break," Yuki told the lucario as it made its way over to the table.

"It's fine, she's a good waitress and well-mannered, I don't really blame her for wanting a break from the shit she gets here," the lucario told him. "Your raw slowpoke?"

"Yes, thanks," Yuki replied and the lucario set it down on the table. "I take it you're the owner?"

"Yes – my name is Lewis," he answered. "I take it you're a traveller?"

"Indeed – in fact, Charlie has been quite helpful, rather than flirtatious, so if anything I'd be happy to pay for the time she wasted," he told the lucario, who seemed to dismiss the suggestion with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it, she works very hard, and the customers love her for the wrong reasons... which is why I've gotta give her a bit of leeway sometimes," Lewis told him. "Anyway, please enjoy your meal, if you require anything else, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," Yuki murmured and, with a short nod of his head, the lucario returned downstairs. A blank expression was on Yuki's face as he finally realised that he'd been flirted with. _I certainly didn't expect that. Regardless... this is the best lead I've got, Thea. I could've only dreamed it would go this well after only a couple weeks._ With that thought in mind, he decided to dig into his meal.

The next morning, Yuki woke up to dappled light drifting through the trees above him. The night previous he had finished his meal before going for a short walk around the nearby forest to find a suitable place to sleep. He stood up as his eyes adjusted to the light and stretched his journey-worn muscles, giving a long yawn at the same time. Looking up through a patch in the canopy to look at the sun's position, he guessed it was about ten o'clock-ish before grabbing his knapsack and taking in a deep breath of the forest air. Feeling rejuvenated, he started on his way.

 _I should be able to make it to Nova tonight taking it easy,_ Yuki thought. _I'd better not strain myself... I don't know what sort of tournament this is going to be, so I need to be prepared._

And so, he was on his way.

* * *

By the time he made it to Nova, it was already almost sunset. By cutting through the forest and not taking the path, he'd shortened his trip a considerable amount, and not only that, he was able to hunt some high-level game to eat.

Majority of pokémon were civilised, and could talk, think, and socialise with other pokémon. However, there were some uncivilised livestock pokémon that were mainly eaten as part of the food-chain, such as tauros, slowpoke, most bug-type and critter-like pokémon such as rattata and raticate, and many others. Yuki considered himself lucky to have come across a rather high-level Sawsbuck on his way through to Nova, which he had made short work of. From his appraisal, he'd guessed the deer's level was at least in the fifties, and it certainly tasted like it.

The higher the level of the pokémon, the more well-developed and tastier the meat on its bones was. From growing up in the harsh snowy mountains of Mt. Silver and hunting the area's well-known high-level tough pokémon, Yuki had developed a keen appraisal skill for the level of pokémon. A skill highly sought after for its practical application in businesses like high-class restaurants, of whom pay top dollar for the highest-level meat available.

It wasn't uncommon for pokémon to ask a waiter in a restaurant what level their meat was rated at, as Yuki had done earlier.

As he approached the gates of the walled-in city of Nova, with sunlight slowly fleeting as the sun steadily dropped below the horizon, two pokémon dressed in black and maroon guard outfits walked out from a booth near the large gate entrance. Yuki observed them keenly; one was a luxray, the other a bisharp. Both were only wearing a simple blazer and cap to identify they were guards, as most pokémon did. Clothes were rarely used apart from uniforms and other forms of identification such as the special scarves of the exploration society and rescue teams.

"Evening traveller, how may we help you this fine night?" the bisharp began, eyes cheerful.

"I would like passage into the city, and to stay for a short-term," Yuki replied, a slight smile on his face.

"Certainly," the luxray replied. "Please come this way," he instructed, as the three of them moved over to the booth. "Now – what's your name?"

"Yuki," he replied.

"Umbreon... Yuki... how long are you planning on staying for?" the luxray then asked as he jotted down info.

"I'm not sure, when is the tournament run and how long does it go for?" Yuki asked.

"Come to watch our specialty, eh!?" the bisharp asked with enthusiasm. "Well, the next tournament starts tomorrow in fact, and you can still buy the tickets that haven't sold out right here. What are you looking for?"

Yuki stood there awkwardly for a moment as he tried to gather himself. "Uh... I'm not actually a spectator. I'm here to compete," he told them, watching as the luxray tried to hide his scoff of laughter.

"Hey, don't laugh," the bisharp told his companion, a stern look on his face. "Are you forgetting that our resident champion is an umbreon?"

"The champion is an umbreon?" Yuki asked, finding himself curious yet also relieved at the same time. _If_ _it_ _'s an umbreon_ _who is_ _the current champion, I shouldn't have any issue winning the competition. I still need to be wary, though._ "Do you think you could tell me more about them, and about the tournament?" he then asked, to which the bisharp nodded his head.

"Sure thing. Firstly, the tournament is comprised of four group stages of between fifteen to twenty competitors. These stages are all-on-all battles where the final four remaining in each group qualify for the bracket stage of the tournament, which are one-on-one battles. After that, well... the winner of the bracket stage moves on to fight the reigning champion... N'vara," he finished, watching as Yuki thought about everything he was just told.

"The umbreon... right?" he asked.

"Yes," the bisharp continued. "The tournament used to just be group stages and then a bracket stage to determine the winner... until _he_ showed up and won the tournament. He used his wish to change the tournament structure; changing it from a yearly tournament to a monthly tournament, and changing it so that he fought whoever won the bracket stage for the championship, under the condition he couldn't get any more wishes, and only won the prize money and the right to live in the colosseum for as long as he remains champion."

"I see..." Yuki thought aloud as he pondered. "How long does the tournament usually go for? A couple of days?"

"Yeah, about that long," the bisharp answered. "How does a week sound? We only need to record this for administrative purposes; so long as you tell us if you leave early, we'll say your stay will be for one week. How does that sound?"

"That's perfect, thank you," Yuki replied. "Is there anything else I should know before competing?"

As he asked, the two guards shared a look for a moment before turning back to him with serious looks on their faces. "The Nova Competition is the only tournament that allows you to kill," the luxray told him. "Not every competitor will try to kill, but every once in a while you'll see competitors who _only_ enter the tournament to kill other pokémon. In order to win the one-on-one fights, you can either win by accepting the other pokémon's forfeit, or by rendering them unable to continue fighting by knocking them unconscious or... killing them."

"You seem like a really nice guy, if you decide to compete, I do hope you'll be alright and that there won't be any of those types in this month's tournament," the bisharp said, to which Yuki could only smile at.

"You know there'll be at least one... if he makes it that far," the luxray commented.

"Let me guess... N'vara, right?" Yuki said and they both nodded.

"No one outside of the tournament organisers has heard him speak... he _always_ goes for the kill and never seems to lose any ground when he fights," the bisharp said. "Not to mention he's an irregular, too, blue rings and all. You best be wary if you have to come against him," he then warned.

"Duly noted," Yuki replied. "Now, is that all you needed from me?"

"Should be everything, Yuki, I hope you have a good time here and good luck in the competition!" the bisharp said.

"Thanks very much, uh..." he trailed off, hoping the bisharp would pick up.

"Oh, I'm Alan," he told Yuki. "And this impertinent luxray here is Hugh."

"Well," Yuki began as he stood to leave, "thank you both very much, Alan and Hugh, I appreciate your help and information. I guess I'll be on my way then."

"No worries at all Yuki, if I happen to not be on duty when the tournament is on, I'll come to cheer you on," Alan said. "It's not often we get such well-meaning individuals through here. By the way, I never happened to catch where you're from..."

"Oh, that's right..." Yuki trailed off as he faced the city. "I'm from Mt. Silver."

And with that, he nodded his goodbye and left the two guards there to stare on in disbelief as he entered the city.

 _Now... where to..._

After walking through the arch in the massive wall that surrounded the city, Yuki was presented with what seemed to be one of the city's town squares, with many spots for stalls and several large buildings for various trade guilds and other communal buildings, with one standing out in particular.

 _Ah, this must be the most popular tavern-inn,_ he thought to himself as he looked at the large three-story building with many sounds emanating from within. A displeased look was on his face. _Going the other way, then._

After looking around the small square for a short while, he quickly moved on and eavesdropped here and there to find out about another, _lesser-known_ tavern inn, where it would be quieter and suit Yuki much better. Named the _Tabibito_ , it didn't take him too long to manoeuvre Nova's streets and find it. Still roughly the same size as the more popular inn near the entrance of the city, as soon as he stepped inside he could instantly tell which one was _truly_ better. In the far right corner of the dimly-lit room was a stairwell heading up to what he assumed was the guest rooms. The only things that were in the main atrium beside that was a bar and a couple of tables, chairs, and booths.

The best part was the significant lack of people.

"Evening, traveler," the barkeep greeted Yuki as he walked up to the bar.

"Evening, master, do you have any open rooms?" he asked and the elderly barkeep gave a short laugh.

"Well aren't you old-fashioned, it's not often I get called the master of the house anymore," the alakazam chuckled. "And please, call me Sven."

"Let's just say I'm a little archaic," Yuki replied with a slight smile. "So, Sven, what's available for about a week's stay?"

"How does a balcony room sound?" he asked.

"That sounds just fine to me – would it be alright if I were to leave earlier than that?"

As he looked around the room, Yuki noticed several paintings and sculptures dotted the walls and floor, with several potted plants around the place as well. From the ceiling hung several dim, incandescent lamps that gave the room a nice mellow feel. A phonograph played softly in the background – nothing like the loud, annoying sounds that emanated from the town's main tavern-inn. Yuki was immediately fond of the place – it was more of a quiet bar with an inn attached to it, and he liked it very much.

"Of course – will you be competing?" Sven asked and Yuki nodded. "Have you already registered or have you not gotten around to it yet?"

"I've only just arrived, so I'm still needing to register," he replied. "Am I able to register here?"

"Certainly, and you can have a discount, too," Sven said.

"Oh, is there a deal for competitors?" Yuki asked with a brow raised.

"No, but I like you, kid," he said with another chuckle.

Behind the bar, there were assorted drinks with a multitude of glasses and many bottles of spirits. On one of the benches there sat a hand grinder, decanter, and a pour-over kettle, with an assortment of ceramic mugs. The whole thing was set with a mahogany theme that really worked well for the place.

"You can call me Yuki," he told Sven, who smiled.

"But of course, Yuki," he amended as he wrote on a piece of paper. "You're in room seven, just up the stairs, right, and then up on the left."

"Thank you kindly," Yuki murmured with a smile as he grabbed the key with his _psychic_ and started towards the stairs.

"Please, once you've dropped off your stuff you're more than welcome to come downstairs and have a drink; I'd love to hear a bit about you and where you're from," Sven called out after him. Yuki seemed to pause for a moment to think about it before he turned back and smiled.

"No worries, I think I'll do just that."

* * *

"Now, what can I get you?" Sven asked as Yuki hopped on a bar stool, sitting back on his haunches as he did.

"I'm fine with water, thanks," he replied. "Are you normally this quiet?"

"Yes, yes, but I prefer it this way," the alakazam responded. "I'll take the quieter eccentrics over the loud and rowdy hooligans that all go to the more popular tavern inn."

"It's so much better like this, I must agree," Yuki told him with a smile. "I actually don't live in a city or town, but in the mountains of Mt. Silver."

"Ah, bit of a nomad are we? Well, I used to know an eeveelution that lived on Mt. Silver... an espeon with the most delightful smile and voice," Sven told him. "She used to sing sometimes for my bar, back in the old days, back when the tournament was a much smaller occasion that it is now."

"Did her name happen to be Betha?" Yuki asked, a knowing smile on his face as he watched Sven's eyes widen.

"You knew her!?" he asked as a grin began to grow on his face.

"Well, I suppose I could call her my mother, but she's my aunt," Yuki explained. "She took myself and my sister in after our parents were killed in an avalanche."

"Arceus above, I'm sorry to hear that," Sven murmured in dismay, a sad look on his face. "She did mention she had a brother with a family once, said that she often sparred with him when they were little, too. Well, if you are who you say you are... it seems we might finally have a new champion on our hands."

"You think so?" Yuki asked with a brow raised. "Why?"

"Well, if you're anything like your aunt... she was like the _wind_ when she fought!" he exclaimed, the memories vivid in his mind. "She won the tournament without breaking a sweat... of course, this was back when it was only a prize of money, not a wish, but I had always imagined that one day, she would return to win the tournament and wish it would never run again..." he trailed off, sadness in his eyes.

 _Winning tournaments explains how she ended up with so much money,_ Yuki thought.

"Why is that?" he asked, a curious expression on his face.

"Well... your aunt was strong-willed and the epitome of selflessness, as I'm sure you're most aware," began, taking a moment to gather himself. "When it was announced that any wish would be granted to the victor of the tournament, it was also announced that the tournament would allow pokémon to _kill_ other pokémon... and with that came the most... _malicious_ pokémon from all over the region. One of which, happened to be the one that murdered my mate."

"You have my condolences," Yuki offered as he looked down. "There's so much wrong with this world..." he muttered after a moment, shaking his head. "Were they caught?"

"Eventually," he replied. "This city has an influx of scum all the time... all thanks to that stupid tournament. We were known as the city of crime, in and of itself causing more heathens to arrive and fewer tourists to come."

"That sounds dreadful..." he commented as he thought.

"Indeed so. It's hard to be a tavern owner in this city; many have given up and quit," Sven went on. "Besides myself, there's only the main tavern – which is run by the tournament organisers – and one other on the other side of town."

"I'm glad you're still here," Yuki said with a slight smile. "What's the city like nowadays?"

"You still get the odd misbehaved group or individual but it's much quieter and calmer now," Sven told him. "The city will never return to how it used to be... not unless we get rid of the tournament. Which, of course, is never going to happen... makes too much money for the organisers – who then pay a hefty fee to the council."

"Who then, of course, turn a blind eye to the chaos it causes the city," a voice interrupted from the entrance, causing Yuki to turn and find another umbreon walking towards the bar.

"Oh, Riley, nice to see you," Sven greeted her with a smile.

"Yo, Sven," she replied. "Who's this? Another competitor, perhaps?" she asked, motioning towards Yuki, who was watching on in silence.

He kept his face stoic while Sven explained who Yuki was as he silently thought to himself. _Don't react,_ he told himself. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Yuki," the umbreon continued. "I'm Riley."

"Nice to meet you, Riley," he replied politely with a light smile. _I can't tell what level she is. She's trained intensely_ _to be able to hide it_ _._ "Have you been here for long?"

"A year or two, I guess," she replied.

"She's been around roughly since my dear Jess was taken from me," Sven chimed in. "When she heard about what had happened, she started to come in more often and help me out with things despite my pleadings for her not to."

"Oh please, you're an old geezer running an ancient tavern," she chuckled. "You should be retired already, you don't need to work yourself to the bone all on your own."

"Well, this is my hobby and my passion, so I can't let you take that from me just yet!" he exclaimed with a huff of laughter. "If we got some more customers I might be able to afford the extra staff needed to help run things smoothly but for now, anything I try to give Riley for her help she simply refuses or finds creative ways to return it."

"As I said, I don't need anything."

"You're too young and foolish, Riley. Almost as foolish as Yuki here, who's going to try and make it through the tournament," Sven added and she raised a brow. "He might actually have a chance, though."

"Oh?" she commented as she looked at Yuki, who tried not to look at her directly. "What makes you say that?"

"He's the nephew of an old friend of mine, a friend who won the tournament back in the old days," he murmured as he wiped down the bench for what seemed to be the fourth time.

"Well then, I wish you luck, Yuki," she told him with a wink before turning to Sven once more. "Anyway, think I could get what I came here for, Sven?" she asked as she placed a couple of coins on the counter.

"Right here, Riley," he told her with a smile as he reached under the counter and pulled out a small brown bag and placed it on the counter. "The usual."

"Thanks," she said with a smile as she used _psychic_ to grab the bag and turned to leave. "Cya," she called out behind her as she left.

"What was in the bag?" Yuki then asked.

"Roasted dark-chocolate-coated coffee beans," Sven replied. "You eat them as-is."

"I'd never heard of such a thing," Yuki responded. "Moreover... what does Riley do? Do you know much about her?"

"I believe she works as a receptionist at the colosseum, though I've not been near the place in years..." the alakazam trailed off sadly. "All I really know about her is that she arrived a year or two ago to find work and has been living here ever since. That and she's the most wonderful pokémon I've known for those couple of years."

Yuki then thought to himself for a moment, before turning back to Sven. "Well, I guess I'd better head off then... get some rest for tomorrow and whatnot."

"No worries, lad," Sven told him with a smile. "Thanks for keeping this geezer company. If I had the strength to, I'd come and watch you fight... but I'm afraid I can't go near the place."

"That's fine," Yuki murmured understandingly. "I'll see you in the morning, then?" he asked, turning to the stairs.

"Indeed you will – I'll give you a hearty breakfast and my special blend of coffee," Sven told him with a wide grin.

"I'll look forward to it," Yuki replied with a smile, before giving a nod and walking up the stairs to his room.

* * *

Outside in a nearby alleyway, a female umbreon sat slumped against the wall, seemingly devoid of energy. _Fuck, that was exhausting, she_ thought as she looked down to the small brown bag at her side. _Having to act like that is extremely unpleasant,_ she continued to herself, a slight scowl on her face. _But... y_ _ou can't complain after what he's lost._

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a door opening into the alleyway, an indisputably drunk buizel stepping outside after it. He took a few moments to stumble around before he noticed her, a drunken grin appearing on his face as he began, "Hey pretty-"

That was as far as he got before his severed head plopped onto the ground with a wet crunch, body following soon after.

 _Stupid cunt,_ she thought to herself, seething with anger as the remnants of her shadow ball dissipated from her mouth. She reached into the bag beside her and grabbed at its contents, swiftly tilting her head back to allow a few of the small, brown objects to fall into her mouth as she chewed heartily.

 _After all,_ she continued her train of thought as she swallowed. _It's all because of me._

* * *

The next morning, Yuki awoke to the slightest rays of sunlight filtering into his room through old curtains, the humble murmur of the town springing to life just beginning to reach his sensitive ears. He groggily rolled over and pulled the covers off his black-furred body; trying to force himself to get up and start moving to counter the cold.

 _There's something about staying in a city that makes the rooms at inns so much colder,_ he thought to himself, frowning, as he groaned into his pillow. _I'll take the piloswine fur beds at home over this any day, or night, rather. 'Mt. Silver is cold' my arse._

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, the sound of Sven's voice following. "Sorry if I have woken you, Yuki. Breakfast is ready downstairs for you whenever you are ready, I have also submitted your registration form this morning – you're all signed up and ready to go."

"Thank you, Sven – and you're not a bother at all; I was already awake," Yuki called out to the alakazam as he sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his paws. "You've been such a great help. What time do I need to be at the colosseum?"

"Around about eight-thirty for the roll call – it's presently seven-thirty," Sven called out. "I'll leave you be to ready yourself – but don't take too long, else it'll get cold," he added with a huff of fading laughter accompanied by the sound of receding footsteps, easily audible by the old and creaky wooden floorboards.

After a moment of sitting still on the bed, Yuki finally decided to jump off the comfortable mattress and stretched vigorously. He took a moment to gather himself, knowing that whatever happened that day would influence the future.

 _Come now, don't think too heavily,_ he told himself, smirking. _Tomorrow is promised to no one,_ he thought before he stopped and smiled. _Except for you, Thea._ "Right," he called out loud to himself as he started towards the door. "Time to have a hearty breakfast and win me a wish."

A few moments later he arrived downstairs, greeted by a smile on Sven's face. One word escaped the elder alakazam's mouth. "Coffee?"

Yuki nodded, a smile growing on his lips. "Please," he answered as the alakazam gave another smile.

"You're in for a treat – I always love showing off my style of coffee to travellers," he told Yuki, who sat up on his haunches at the bar stool as Sven walked over to the benches against the wall behind the bar. "But first, how about you make a start on this?" he suggested, placing a bowl of food in front of him. Yuki's eyes widened in eagerness as he felt a pang in his stomach at the mere sight of it.

"My goodness... this looks so good!" he exclaimed in surprise, triggering another smile on Sven's face. "What is it?"

"Scrambled farfetch'd eggs and lightly smoked slowpoke bacon," he answered. "I figured you wouldn't want your meat cooked, so I did it how Betha liked them."

"Wow," Yuki murmured, instantly intrigued. _She never mentioned eating something like this... all we've ever eaten is raw and dried meats up in Mt. Silver... maybe because we don't have a kitchen or house for that matter,_ he thought to himself humorously.

"Dig in and I'll start making your coffee," Sven told him. "Take it slow – it'll sit better when you start the first round of the tournament," he continued as he grabbed a kettle from bench-top stove behind him and brought it over to the front counter. Once there, he started to pour the hot water carefully into freshly ground coffee beans that were sat on a stand that dripped down through a paper filter into a decanter. "You see here, there's a special way to pour the water so that you extract all the nice oils of the coffee beans. It needs to be nice and slow, carefully spaced out."

"Wow..." Yuki murmured after he finished chewing, his eyes cast to the hot water disappearing into the coffee grounds. "That's quite fascinating... how long have you been making coffee like this for?" he then asked.

"A good couple of decades now, I should think," Sven replied wistfully, a smile on his face. "I would hope that I know a thing or two about it by now," he added with a chuckle.

"You certainly look experienced enough," Yuki noted as he finished another mouthful, watching Sven's careful, steady hands expertly control the pour. "I can't wait to taste it."

"You needn't wait too long, just a minute or two now," Sven told the eager umbreon as he finished pouring the water into the grounds with a little swirl, putting the kettle on the counter beside it. Whilst Yuki watched the last few drips of coffee fall from the filter, Sven had grabbed a large mug from a stovetop tray. "Now, the most important part is to have a warm mug – else the coffee will go cold and ruin the flavour."

"How interesting... I never knew there was so much to it," Yuki commented as he watched on in curiosity, pausing his meal momentarily.

"But of course, brewing a good coffee is an art form – you're not just making a drink," Sven told him as he began to pour, slowly, the brewed coffee into the mug. " _Douzo_ ," he said as he placed the coffee down in front of Yuki.

"What does that mean?" he asked and Sven smiled.

"It's an old word with a lot of meanings, it's a lot like 'here you go'," he answered.

"That's kinda cool... _Douzo..._ " Yuki muttered to himself before he smiled. "I'll remember that. Now, to try this coffee..."

"It'll still be a little hot, don't have too much at once or you'll burn yourself," Sven warned as he watched Yuki stick his tongue in to try it. He paused momentarily as he let a small amount roll over his tongue, nodding his head as he did. "What do you think?" Sven asked as he swallowed.

"It's very smooth," Yuki answered. "It has a very nice flavour; sourer and less bitter than the coffees I've tried but it's not overpowering at all. It's very pleasant."

"I'm very glad that you enjoy it," Sven told the umbreon with a smile. "Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone try my coffee and genuinely enjoy it."

"I'm quite surprised that Betha never told me about you – well, she never really told us much about her travels apart from what she learned from them," Yuki murmured.

"That's just like her, you know," Sven said. "That's why it gave me chills to see her go from being usually stoic and composed to expressive and gleeful when she sang and danced."

"She most definitely didn't ever tell us about that," Yuki commented with a smirk. "I wonder how many things she skimped out on out when she was telling us about her travels..."

"You and your sister, right?" Sven questioned.

"Yeah, my younger sister, Thea," he answered. "She's the reason why I'm doing this..."

"Oh?"

"See, when she was little, she strayed a bit too far away from my family and ended up... falling into an icy-cold lake," Yuki began with a heavy sigh. "Her heart now beats too slow from the lack of oxygen at the time, which also made her heart very weak. Unfortunately, we have no sure-fire way of dealing with it and sometime in the next six months... her heart's just going to start giving out..."

"That's awful..." Sven murmured. "So you're looking to use your wish to heal her?" he asked and Yuki nodded. "How bad is it at the moment?"

"Well... she's very weak and can't do too much physical activity or she'll start to run out of breath. The pain is also ongoing, too," he answered with another heavy sigh. "But she does her best to stay positive. I'm just hoping to give her a full life."

"I think that's very commendable of you, Yuki," Sven told him. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're well-fed and well-rested before you leave each day."

"I appreciate that a lot, Sven," Yuki said with a smile. "Do you know what the program is like?"

"Well, today is the first round, so there'll be the four group stages throughout the day," the alakazam answered. "They'll explain the rules there. Then, the next day, the sixteen competitors remaining will fight each other one-on-one in a single elimination bracket until there are eight left, then four, then two. The winner then fights against the current champion."

"About that, have you ever seen the current champion?" Yuki asked as he lapped up a little more of his coffee.

"No, they like to keep to themselves, up in the colosseum tower where they live," he answered. "If you come up against N'vara, be very wary. From the stories I've heard... he once tore a charmeleon apart about a year ago. Absolutely not the type of pokémon you would want to be friendly with."

"I'll be careful," Yuki reassured him. "Whilst I do believe I have a lot of skill from my many years of training, I won't let it get to my head. Keeping a cool head and remaining calm and collected are some of the most important things in a fight."

"Very wise, Yuki," Sven murmured as he grabbed the empty plate and placed it on the counter behind him. "It's very good to not get cocky. Betha, unfortunately, was quite the opposite."

"Oh, really?" he asked with a grin.

"Her arrogance was matched only by her kindness and happiness," he answered with a chuckle. "Arrogance is a bit of a strong word, I guess – overconfidence might be a better fit for her."

"I can see that," Yuki murmured. "I guess she lost that from age, or maybe she had an experience that taught her to be a little more grounded," he added with a chuckle.

"Perhaps," Sven commented. "Well, you seem to be rather humble, at least."

"Well, I don't exactly talk to many people or feel the need to be competitive or prideful, I guess," he murmured. "It's just life for me to have these skills. Nothing to boast about, really. Just need it to live."

"As simple as breathing, would you say?" Sven asked and Yuki shrugged. "In any case, that gives you an advantage against the other competitors. Both your perception and awareness seem to be absolutely top-notch, too."

"What makes you say that?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

"Last night, in the middle of me talking you heard Riley before she entered – which is not easy," Sven explained. "You realised she had a very quiet step and thought it odd, did you not?"

"I'm surprised you could read that much from me..." Yuki trailed off, surprised. _I made sure to_ _be_ _as normal as possible. Do I have a tell?_

"Your right ear moved slightly," Sven told him with a smirk. "Right after that you glanced behind me at, what I would like to guess, the kettle on the stove, did you not?"

"I did," he answered, bewildered. "I used the reflection to watch as she entered..."

"And that's why I think you've got a better chance than anyone at winning the tournament," Sven continued.

"I hope you're right..." Yuki trailed off with a smile. "You're pretty perceptive yourself, you know."

Sven chuckled. "In this day and age one's got to be, I suppose."

"Unfortunately so," Yuki murmured his response as he looked down to his mug of coffee to realise he'd already finished it.

"Well, let's see you put your skills to use, Yuki," he replied as he gestured to the clock behind him. "It's already eight – you should start heading towards the colosseum now."

"I suppose so," he echoed as he jumped down from the bar stool and stretched, making sure to wake up any muscles that fell asleep whilst he was sitting down. "Thank you so much for everything, Sven," he told the alakazam, who only smiled in response. "I really appreciate it."

"I'm happy to help," he replied, still smiling. "Come back successful and in one piece tonight so I can treat with a nice meal," he continued.

"I will," Yuki replied and with that, waved his goodbye and left for the colosseum.


	2. Chapter 2

**Petrichor**

 _Chapter Two_

* * *

To call the colosseum large would have been an understatement.

Yuki stood in awe outside of the massive arena that was in front of him, wondering how he could have possibly not seen the place when he had entered Nova. It seemed to be mainly made out of limestone and cement, with large columns holding up the front entrance. There was a steady stream of all sorts of pokémon heading through the large archway and Yuki figured them to be the spectators. On his way there, he had seen quite a few pokémon advertising the tournament. He had thought that there wouldn't be so many interested in an event where pokémon could die but then again, this was their town's main attraction. They were probably used to it by now.

 _How disgusting,_ he thought as he hid a scowl. He wasn't going to kill anyone. Thea wouldn't want him to help her by doing that. _I'll just have to force people to surrender._

After looking around a little more, Yuki found what seemed to be the entrance for competitors and turned to head over to it. As he did, he found himself checking out each of them, reading their physique, body language, and level. _Average, over-confident, prideful... weak._ These thoughts came into Yuki's mind frighteningly often. _You'd think that this kind of tournament would attract a rather specific crowd... not these piddly dreamy-eyed fighters._ He began to feel worried. Not only for the legitamacy of the tournament but also for the competitors. He understood that these pokémon all came from different walks of life with various reasons for taking part in the tournament... but hardly any of them seemed to have any degree of competency to them. He found himself growing angrier by the second.

 _The organisers trade these pokémon's lives for profit... this is really the crowd they're after by offering up a wish. Preying on the desperate wishes of those that don't have any power to change their lives,_ he thought as his anger began to subside. _It's... not my concern,_ he told himself with a heavy sigh. _Don't get distracted. It's all just pieces of the puzzle._ After taking a moment to calm himself, he resumed looking around and judging the competitors when he noticed something. Or someone, rather.

It was a riolu. He was walking into the colosseum just like everyone else but he was... different. Everything about him seemed very neutral, as opposed to the other competitors who were rather emotive. But that wasn't what had caught Yuki's eye. It was the riolu's level. Yuki smiled inwardly. _I figured there would be a few decent competitors here,_ he thought as he continued into the colosseum, eager to get it over with.

* * *

It only took a short while for the staff to close the gates, blocking off the odd late competitor. They were strict, having shut the gates and closed registration when they had said they would. _Must have met their quota, then,_ Yuki thought as he looked around at the pool of around a hundred and fifty competitors, left standing in the large atrium as they waited for further instruction. _Rather sociable for pokémon that'll be trying to kill each other shortly,_ he thought as he tried to block out the incessant chatter.

"May I have your attention, please, _"_ a voice called out loudly amongst the murmur of the crowd. It only took a few moments for the chatter to cease. "Please form four lines in front of the four booths at the front of the atrium, please," the announcer called out, who Yuki could make out to be a male braixen. "These booths do not correlate to which block you'll be assigned to, so please don't try to overthink things." He took a moment to pause once more, ensuring that everyone was listening. "Upon reaching the booths, you will state your name and your level so that each block is assigned equally. We will have people verifying your levels. They are highly trained individuals, so don't try to fool them. Anyone that claims to be level seventy or above will be closely examined. Once everyone is confirmed registered and on the other side, we will then announce the rules," he concluded as he motioned for everyone to line up.

 _Level seventy? Not bad, I was expected them to have an average between forty and sixty, so I suppose seventy checks out as a high average,_ Yuki thought as he lined up. He noticed that the riolu he had seen earlier was in the line next to him. He was rather close, at that. _Good, I'll be able to see how he reacts to this._

The registration was rather efficient, fortunately. They were verifying competitors about one every ten seconds, which made for four every ten seconds. With only a total of a hundred and fifty, it was going rather fast. And now, it was the riolu's turn.

"Name?" the registrar asked.

"Vitae."

"Level?"

"Seventy-eight," the riolu answered, causing a few reactions from those around him.

"Please step forward for verification," the registrar continued, remaining uninterested.

 _Good professionalism. Must be used to it,_ Yuki thought.

"Come here," an alakazam told the riolu, who stepped forward. After a moment, the alakazam said to the registrar, "checks out."

The riolu was then given the nod to proceed but before he did, he turned and glanced at Yuki. _He picked me out of the crowd,_ Yuki thought with a slight frown.

" _Sir?"_ a voice cut through his thoughts, startling him slightly. It was his turn. He stepped forward with a smile.

"Name?"

"Yuki."

"Level?"

"Forty-six."

This registrar called for the alakazam, who said the same thing. The registrar then let out a sigh as he looked to Yuki once more. "Listen, I normally don't do this – but you're not going to have just a bad time against pokémon with higher levels – you're also going to have to face pokémon that have specifically trained to fight umbreons. One umbreon, in particular, as I'm sure you're most aware. Would you reconsider?"

Yuki was left dumbfounded. _I can't believe I'd totally forgotten about type advantages, I'm actually stupid,_ he thought to himself. _Well, not like it's going to matter._ "Nope. I'll continue, thanks." With that, he simply walked past the booth to the next room.

* * *

Shortly after, the rest of the competitors had completed their registration and made their way to the room they were all in now, with the braixen once again taking the lead.

"Now, to explain the rules," he began loudly, gaining the attention of everyone once more. "Firstly, in this stage of the competition, you are allowed to forfeit at any time – simply walk out of the arena if you wish to do so. There will be roughly thirty-five competitors in each block, with the remaining four moving on to the next round of the competition. Once there are four competitors remaining, a bell will sound. Once this bell sounds, all fighting must cease immediately. Anyone that breaches this rules will be immediately disqualified from the competition and the next able competitor or competitors from that block will replace any competitor or competitors that are needed to make the quota.

"You may either render your opponent unconscious or kill them. If you have fallen unconscious but wake up before the block has concluded, you must exit the arena as soon as you can. Staying will only increase your chance of dying, so make use of the life you were spared by your opponent and leave. Exiting the arena, of your own volition or not, will result in immediate disqualification. Finally, any moves that cause damage to the arena – specifically the spectator area – are banned, so please use them at your own discretion."

As he finished, there was a murmur about the crowd which he waved away as he begun to speak again. "All competitors in block A, could you please make your way through to the next room with me, where the gates to the arena are. The first round will start shortly, once you're there make sure you resolve yourselves for the fight," he said as he turned and began walking towards the back of the room with multiple competitors beginning to follow.

After that, there wasn't much going on within the dim fire-lit room Yuki was waiting in. He was assigned to block D, meaning he would be in the final round of group fights. They were told to stay put and that they were not allowed to spectate any of the other fights.

 _For most pokémon, this long wait would be pretty rough,_ Yuki though as he laid down by a wall, lowering his head onto his paws as he shut his eyes. _I guess I'm lucky; should be a lot easier for me to win if everyone else is too anxious._ He rested not five minutes before he was greeted by a familiar presence and grimaced inwardly. He opened one eye to find Riley casually walking towards him. _Great_.

"What group stage are you in?" she asked, stopping in front of him.

"D. What are you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as she looked around the room at the other competitors.

"I work here, I'm just checking in on the competitors," she replied. "Best of luck," she then said as she turned back the way she came before suddenly stopping.

"Yuki." She didn't bother turning around. His ears had perked up at the tone in her voice. "You better win." After that, she walked away, leaving Yuki with a sudden unpleasant chill.

 _Puzzle pieces,_ he thought as he laid his head down once more.

* * *

A while later, it was finally time for Yuki's block to make their way out to the arena. Since the last block had gone out, he had plenty of time to case out the other competitors in his block. Only a couple had stood out to him as potential victors; a raichu, a blastoise, a grovyle, a zoroark, and a dusk lycanroc. He already had a game plan. He figured he was going to need his strength for the one-on-one fights, so he was going to conceal his presence, hide, and avoid fighting as much as possible. There were a couple of rock formations scattered about the place – he would use those.

The fight itself was rather dull. It went just how Yuki had predicted – most pokémon simply knocked their opponents out, pretty much all of the lower-leveled pokémon disqualified themselves rather quickly after seeing their unlucky counterparts killed off quickly by the few remorseless higher-leveled pokémon. All the pokémon Yuki had predicted doing well were doing just that and most of them were knocking out their opposition, save for one: the dusk lycanroc. He watched it from behind a rock with distaste as it cut down pokémon without batting an eye. The arena was already significantly less crowded, with only about ten competitors remaining. _Not much longer to go now,_ Yuki thought as he began to make his round to another rock when he noticed something.

He dodged away as fast as he could as the rock he was hiding behind was blasted away by a stream of water. He was up again in an instant to look his opponent in the face: the blastoise.

"Hey, level forty-six," he called out in a snarky manner, a grin on his face. "I'm surprised you dodged that – how'd I give myself away?"

 _If I were actually that level, that blast would've killed me,_ Yuki thought as he looked around. _I have to get rid of this guy, and quickly._ In a fight, sometimes the first step made all the difference. For Yuki, all the times running in snow, having to find a grip, to be able to run fast, was the perfect training for strength in his paws. Within the space of a second, he'd instantly closed the gap between them, jumped up and kicked the blastoise right in the centre of his shell, blowing it backward through a rock until it reached the arena wall. It happened so fast that even the spectators couldn't tell what had happened and before they could even catch up, Yuki had already used the dust as cover to hide behind another rock. Fortunately for him, the spectators were more enthralled by what was happening around the rest of the arena.

 _That was close,_ he thought. _No wonder I took him out so quick, he didn't even notice that he'd reflected the sun off his cannons onto the rock in front of me. If I didn't catch that, I would've been in pretty bad shape._

And just like that, the bell sounded. Yuki came out from behind the rock, eyeing the other competitors that made it. _A_ d _usk lycanroc, riachu, zoroark,_ he thought to himself. From where the lycanroc was walking, Yuki could see the body of the grovyle. _Tch._

The zoroark eyed Yuki as he walked to the centre, distaste in his eyes. "Pussy," he called out, which Yuki simply ignored.

"We have our final four competitors for the bracket!" an announcer called out, causing the crowd to woo and cheer. Yuki let out a sigh before he cast a glance at the lycanroc, surprised to find it staring intently at him.

 _That can't be good._

* * *

After a warm welcome back to the tavern by Sven, Yuki found himself sitting on the barstool across from the old alakazam, a bowl of wine in front of him in the diminished firelight

"So, Yuki, how was it?" he asked, a warm smile gracing his lips as he took a sip from his glass of wine.

"Somewhat uneventful, you could say," Yuki replied with a sigh. "I didn't have to kill anyone, but I'm sure I gave a blastoise one mighty concussion."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're through without as much as a scratch on you," Sven told him as he looked over to the fireplace, watching as a couple of embers wafted up the chimney. "How do you feel about going to the one-on-one stages?"

"I'm generally as positive as one could be, given the situation," Yuki replied. "Whilst I do have my concerns, I do think that I have the advantage over most of the competitors."

"That's good – just don't let your confidence cause prideful negligence," he warned the umbreon, who smiled at his concern.

"I'm not that much of a risk-taker when it comes to these kinds of situations, though I will take due caution," Yuki said before he lapped up a little bit of wine.

"Did you get to see the bracket?" Sven questioned.

"I did – and it certainly looks pretty bleak for an umbreon," he replied with a short laugh. "On my side alone, there's my first match against a heracross, so that should be fun."

"Oh dear... I wonder if they've done that on purpose?" Sven murmured with a smirk. "Perhaps they don't want another umbreon to take the spotlight?"

"Who knows..." Yuki trailed off with a sigh. "Though, I do know that I won't have a difficult time unless he's level eighty or higher."

"That's quite an interesting observation there, Yuki," he replied, intrigued. "That would entail quite the high level of your own, would it not?"

"I suppose," Yuki agreed with a smirk of his own. "I guess I'll tell you when I win, how's that?"

"Keeping me on the edge, are we? That's not good for my heart, you know," Sven commented.

"Neither is wine," Yuki jested, causing the alakazam to laugh. "There is something I wanted to ask you about, though..."

"Oh? I'll do my best to answer," Sven told him warmly.

"It's about Riley," Yuki said, causing his brow to raise. "What do you know about her?"

"Got you all hot and bothered, has she?" he asked with a smirk, to which Yuki could only stare at him blankly.

"No, she approached me at the colosseum today, saying that she was sizing up the competitors," he began, watching as Sven shifted slightly, becoming more interested. "I know you said that she worked as a receptionist... but that just doesn't seem to fit. Not to mention... it was like she became someone... _different_."

"Different how so?" Sven asked.

"Quite cold; she told me that I'd better win before just disappearing," he answered, thinking deeply. "Not to mention, the pressure she gave off was insane," he added before pausing for a moment. "Is there anything else you can tell me about her?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know much about her past, Yuki," he told the umbreon. "She simply showed up one day to buy some of my chocolate-covered coffee beans, which she's been doing on a regular basis for the past two years. When she heard about what happened to my mate, she started to come in more often and, even when she didn't buy anything, she would help me with running things. She excelled at anything she tried, including using her _psychic_ to do things most quadruped pokémon can't – which is nothing I haven't see you do, either, Yuki."

"I see..." he trailed off as he thought. "Thanks for the info, Sven."

"Anytime, Yuki," he replied gleefully. "The only thing that annoys me about her is that she can sneak up on anyone with ease, and now I've got to make sure my _kurohana_ supplies are all stocked up."

Yuki's eyes widened slightly and his ears pricked up at the sound of that name. "What are _kurohana_?" he asked, a little more intrigued than he would've liked to let on.

"Oh, you didn't know? It's an old nickname for the chocolate-covered roasted coffee beans," Sven answered before he raised a brow. "You look spooked, Yuki. Something the matter?"

 _Puzzle pieces._

"No, nothing's the matter, Sven," he replied as he composed himself. "I think I'm just a little tired, I might turn in for the night early," he said as he jumped down from the barstool.

"No worries, then," he called out, watching as Yuki began to head up the stairs. "Rest well tonight, I'll see you in the morning for breakfast, then?"

"Yes, I wouldn't miss it," Yuki replied as he stopped and turned back to the alakazam. "Thanks for the talk and the wine, Sven. _Oyasumi._ "

"Oyasumi, Yuki," Sven replied with a smile as the umbreon disappeared behind a wall.

When he got to his room, Yuki quietly opened the door and slipped inside before locking it and walking over to the window. He opened the curtains and laid down in the moonlight, looking out at the night sky. _This helps a little to remind me of home... but not enough,_ he thought to himself as he rolled over onto his back, stretching out as he loosened his muscles.

 _I have a bad feeling about this._

* * *

The next morning, the sun was yet to come up. The air still had a chill to it and the town was just beginning to come alive. Yuki sat just in front of the open window, eyes closed as he took in the fresh air, and he was still. His breathing was slow and refined, his mind clear. He took one last deep breath before letting it out and opening his eyes. _Alright._

After that, he'd made his way downstairs to find Sven sitting at a small table facing the curtain-drawn window, a cup of coffee sitting next to him as he watched more and more pokémon begin to walk down the cobbled street. Yuki asked if he could join him, to which the alakazam nodded happily. They spoke over coffee about the town's history as it slowly woke, the slowly rising sun a peaceful accompaniment to their colloquy. However, soon enough, it had to come to an end. Yuki ate, had coffee, and was on his way to the arena with Sven's wish of good luck once again.

Having made the trip the day before, Yuki made it there quicker and didn't bother to look around again. He wanted to get there without being noticed. After all, it was rare for any of the top sixteen to not have any fans. To the residents of Nova, it was just another sport to them.

When he arrived, the announcer revealed the rules of the bracket stage. One-on-one fights in a single elimination bracket. Fight to the death or unconsciousness, or you can offer up a surrender. However, the victor has to accept the surrender.

 _That's harsh,_ Yuki thought as a slight murmur chorused through the crowd.

"Without further delay, I will now show you the bracket," the blaziken announced, revealing a board with the competitors on it. Yuki and the rest of the competitors had already known the bracket before, so they weren't surprised.

Yuki was scheduled for the first fight against the heracross, with the next fight between the dusk lycanroc and an arcanine. _So I'll fight the winner of that match if I win,_ he thought as he kept staring at the bracket. _Dusk lycanroc. And if I win that one, I'll either fight a mawile, a croagunk, a decidueye, or that riolu._ He kept studying the bracket, memorising the competitors. Unless he made it to the finals, he wouldn't fight the flygon, ninetales, breloom, greninja, combusken, raichu, togekiss, or the zoroark. His finals match would also have to be against one of those pokémon based on the seeding, which had been done by several examiners.

"The first match will commence in twenty minutes, can you all please make your way to your respective waiting rooms, thank you," the announcer concluded. Yuki took one last look around at the group before turning towards the hall where his waiting room was, not bothering to look back. _You're above them, Yuki,_ he told himself as he entered his room, shutting the door behind him. _Commit to your resolve_ _._ He then sat down in the centre of the room, shutting his eyes as he did. He let everything go, focusing himself.

 _I won't kill a single one. I'll force them all to surrender before me._

* * *

It wasn't long until Yuki was on the same battlefield once more. The crowd had filled up the colosseum stands with ease, the sheer noise of it enough to overwhelm anyone. He had been briefed when he was led out; ' _a bell will sound to signify the beginning of the match, before then, you will both approach each other from either side of the arena and meet a few metres apart in the middle'._

So there he was, standing across from a heracross who wouldn't take his eyes off him. He had a somewhat malevolent grin on his face, leading Yuki to believe he was confident in his abilities and the type advantage. _How_ _naïv_ _e,_ Yuki thought. _Level sixty-seven._ _Strong attack, weak defence._ A smile graced his lips.

"If you decide to surrender, I will accept it," Yuki called out as they both stopped walking.

"I'm afraid I can't, and won't, do that," the heracross responded dryly, the grin gone from his face. Yuki was still smiling.

"I will still accept it at any point," he continued as he noticed the red flag go up, indicating the match was about to begin. He let his body relax, taking a deep breath as he did so.

 _Alright. You won't have to wait long now, Thea,_ he thought to himself as the bell sounded.

* * *

It was nighttime once more outside the bar and Sven was seeing a small group of customers. There weren't too many but the bar certainly wasn't as quiet as normal for it. They were all sitting at the bar, drinks in hand, chatting about the tournament.

"This tournament's top four are in a league of their own, huh," one of them said.

"Did you see that zoroark? I'm sure he's got to be at least level eighty with the way he was handling his opponents without breaking a sweat!"

"I've got my money on the riolu. You can't beat his precision and technique."

"The greninja didn't look too bad either, he hardly got injured during his fights."

"What about that umbreon? He seems like he's got a good chance."

"Why? He didn't particularly do anything flashy. All he did was evade attacks until he could get a lucky shot in."

"Did you see how he took out that heracross? He didn't use a single move, his movement was so smooth!"

"Yeah, but he looked like he was in pretty bad shape after the fight with the dusk lycanroc afterwards. He looked like he was gonna collapse at any moment."

"Really? He didn't look all that scraped up, not to mention – he whacked the lyc into a wall pretty damn hard."

"The umbreon would've been hurt more internally after a matchup like that. Plus, his match is against the riolu tomorrow, and I honestly doubt he's going to be able to win. He's got the type disadvantage as well."

"Didn't mean a thing in his first fight against the heracross. Honestly, I think it's going to be a very interesting final day tomorrow. I'm just hoping that we're going to have a new champion this time around."

"Yeah, I don't completely dislike N'vara, but the way he goes about his matches just isn't as entertaining."

"In any case, this tourney's cost was certainly worth it. I'm gonna turn in for the night now; don't want to miss out on the first match tomorrow!"

"The zoroark versus the greninja, right? Yeah, wouldn't want to miss that."

"Agreed. Alright, thanks," one of them thanked Sven, who had been serving their drinks as he listened.

"You are welcome anytime," he told them, smiling as the three of them got up and left, leaving the alakazam and an umbreon that had been sitting in a booth close by, minding his own business. An empty cup of coffee sat on the table, a map set out in front of him. "Now, care to tell me how deathly injured you are?" Sven asked as he walked over, causing Yuki to look up at him with a blank expression on his face.

"Eh, they don't know what they're talking about," he murmured as he turned back to the map. "I guess I knew that dusk lyc was gonna be a problem... but I hadn't counted on him being having any kind of intelligence about him. I got the wrong first impression and underestimated him."

"How so?" Sven asked as he sat down opposite him, placing his glass of wine on the table as he did.

"I thought he was just about for blood and that hewasn't really the type to think... but he knew that umbreons have the most delicate hearing out of any of our evolutions," he explained, leaning face down on the table tiredly as he held his ears down with his paws. "He faked me out to get close to me and as I was preparing to block a close-quarters attack, he suddenly used a very powerful hyper voice right next to me. He burst my eardrums and made my ears bleed... I got so shocked by it that I hit him across the arena into a wall with my iron tail."

"Are they alright now?" Sven asked as Yuki looked up.

"My ears? Yeah, I healed them up afterwards but it wasn't fun for the time they were burst," Yuki responded. "Him, not so much. He survived but I think he'll have trouble breathing for a while. I cracked quite a few too many ribs of his than I would've wanted to."

"I see..." Sven trailed off before he took a sip of his wine. "How do you feel about your matchup tomorrow?" he then asked and Yuki seemed to think for a moment.

"Out of all the competitors, I think that the riolu is the one I would want to fight the most," he replied. "He has little to no bloodlust and seems very calm and collected – but not in a menacing way."

"And how are you going to go about the fight? Do you have some sort of plan?" Sven then asked.

"To be honest, I've got no clue," Yuki replied as he looked out to the lantern-lit street. "I'm just going to have to wing it."

* * *

The next morning, Yuki had woken up after a long and peaceful sleep. He'd noted that all the meals Sven had served him during his stay all had the perfect amount of nutrients to recuperate him and that morning had been no different. He had another quick chat with Sven before the latter wished him luck and then he was off. Once again, he made short work of getting to the arena and in no time, he'd found himself walking out to the centre of the arena.

Opposite him; Vitae. The riolu.

Yuki watched the fighting type as he walked towards him. _Great posture and balance. Safe assumption; very agile, speed and precision-based fighter, could also be a hard hitter depending on skill and training. And... a warm smile?_

"Might I know the name of my opponent?" he asked Yuki as they both stopped a few metres apart from each other, the smile still on his face.

"Yuki," he replied shortly. "I take it you're Vitae?" he then asked, and received a nod. "If you chose to surrender, I will accept it."

Vitae continued smiling as he ignored his comment. "Tell me Yuki, are you competing for yourself, or for another?" he asked, causing Yuki to narrow his eyes in curiosity. After a moment, he responded.

"Another."

"Who?" he asked and Yuki frowned. He wasn't sure what the Vitae's game was but one thing had become apparent to him.

This riolu meant him no harm. After another moment's deliberation, he had decided.

"My younger sister. She's dying and there's nothing else I can do to save her," Yuki answered, the crowd beginning to get a little rowdy for them not having started the fight yet. It looked like someone was getting ready to call for them to be ready for the start of the fight but neither Yuki nor Vitae moved. The latter smiled again as he raised his arms and looked down, indicating his forfeit, and a cacophony of boos echoed throughout the arena as he did. Yuki was stunned.

"I would like to speak to you about something if you would be so kind," he said as Yuki walked towards him.

"I appreciate this, of course, I can," he replied. "Do you know of a tavern inn called the Tabibito?"

"Yes," Vitae replied. "I'll meet you there at sundown, how's that?"

"Good for me," Yuki said. "Thanks again, Vitae." The riolu simply smiled before the two both returned to their respective entrances.

* * *

Sundown didn't take too long to arrive, and as such, Yuki had found himself sitting at a booth, much like he had done the previous night. There weren't any customers this time around, and Yuki had already told Sven that he was meeting someone so the alakazam was simply wiping down the bar diligently as Yuki waited. He didn't have to wait long.

"Yo."

He turned to see Vitae approaching his booth, a satchel bag at his side. "Evening," Yuki responded as the riolu sat down.

"Coffee any good here?" he asked and Yuki nodded.

"Excellent, in fact," he added and Vitae smiled as he turned towards the bar.

"Master, may I please get a long black?" he called out. Sven smiled and gave him a nod before Vitae turned back to Yuki. "So, I guess you'd be curious as to my motivations, am I right?"

"You'd guess correct," he replied. "To be honest, I'm rather glad that I didn't have to fight you. I think I'd have a hard time against you."

Vitae smiled but there was a look of distaste on his face as he leaned on his paws. "Let's not kid ourselves here, you were appearing as level forty-six for me, just like you told everyone," he began as Yuki frowned slightly. "Hiding your true level and me not being able to pick that up... you'd need to be at least twenty levels higher than me."

"Level is by no way a means to accurately define combat ability," Yuki told him. "It just makes the skill ceiling higher."

Vitae let out a sigh at his response. "And if we're both, say, in the ninety-ninth percentile for pokémon of our levels, who do you think has the advantage?" he then asked. "The level seventy-eight, or the level hundred-plus?"

Yuki seemed to think for a moment before giving a weak smile. "Well, I guess if you put it that way, you've got a good point," he commented as Sven brought over Vitae's cup of coffee and the latter nodded his thanks. "However, I still don't think that the skill ceiling is increased by so much each level that it would make a difference."

"That may be true," Vitae replied as he took a sip from his coffee. "This sure is nice," he commented as Yuki stretched his neck absent-mindedly. He hadn't realised just how sore his body had become.

"I suppose I could spar you sometime and we could figure out for sure," he said with a smile. "But before that, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh, yes, sorry for getting so sidetracked," Vitae responded with a slight chuckle before letting out a heavy sigh. "Ah, where to begin... this is all going to sound a little strange to you, but the reason why I'm here has little to do with the tournament. I'm here for you."

"Me?" Yuki questioned, puzzled. "Whatever for?"

"I'd better start from the beginning," Vitae began as he looked down at his coffee. "Simply put, I have someone that I need to find. I've been looking for the past few years now, but I've had no luck in tracking them down. Staying under the radar was something he always needed to be good at, you see. And he was."

"Who?" Yuki questioned.

"My brother. A lucario by the name of Sanarae."

"Why do you need to find them? I'm assuming that they weren't taken by force, or went missing," he commented as Vitae took another sip of his coffee.

"I found out that he was a part of the Yurei _,"_ he replied, causing Yuki eyes to widen slightly. "I take it you've heard of them?"

"Yes," he replied shortly. "They're the rumoured crime syndicate with the highest concentration of level ninety-plus pokémon you'll find anywhere in this part of the world. Not to mention, they're apparently all hundred-plus pokémon, at that."

"Correct," Vitae commented. "Well, they're real, and just like the rumours say – they take jobs from powerful pokémon and kill and steal whoever and whatever they want."

"And what job did your brother receive?" Yuki asked, watching as Vitae let out a breath.

"To kill two senior members of the Exploration Society; our parents," he said, his eyes full of sadness. "I'm not sure if you've ever heard of the sister group of the Exploration Society, but my parents handled the contracting with them."

Yuki smiled inwardly, remarking the coincidence. "Yes, I've heard of the Preservation Society. The group of pokémon that serve essentially not only as bodyguards, but also as specialists in their respective fields for groups like the Exploration Society. They keep the peace, right?" he asked.

"Right," Vitae affirmed. "It wasn't until a short time later that I found out the Yurei were planning something big involving the Exploration Society, and they needed the Preservation Society out of the picture."

"Wow..." Yuki trailed off, taking it all in. "So what's all this got to do with me?" he then asked.

"A couple of days ago, I had something of a premonition – one with you, and my brother, in it," Vitae began as Yuki narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "It's hard to make sense of, but the general gist of it was that you were the key to finding him."

"That's odd, are you sure it was me?" Yuki asked and the riolu nodded.

"I heard your name amongst a couple of others, like Thea, and Lewis," he continued, causing Yuki's eyes to widen once more.

"What about her? What about Thea?" he questioned, perhaps a little too suddenly, completely focused on her name.

"Nothing really, just a name," Vitae replied. "She your sister?" he asked and Yuki nodded. "Does the other name sound familiar?"

"Which one? Oh, Lewis? I can't say it does-" Yuki began, but cut himself off when he realised he _did_ know the name. "Actually, Lewis was the name of a tavern owner in a town not too far away from here. I only spoke to him briefly, so I'm not sure why it would be important."

"What pokémon was he?" Vitae then asked as a sudden realisation came to Yuki. He looked up at Vitae with an incredulous look in his eye.

"A lucario," he murmured, a little taken aback.

"How long ago was this?" Vitae continued as Yuki thought for a moment.

"Four days ago."

Vitae thought for a moment, putting a paw to his chin as he did. "Do you know how aura works?" he then asked, watching Yuki intently.

"Mostly," he responded. "All pokémon can manipulate their own personal aura to some extent, but at a certain degree it manifests itself as what we call the move _psychic,_ right?"

"Yeah, but some of us can use it to a higher extent – be it through training or natural affinity, and depending on the level and stage of evolution," Vitae continued. "For example, both my brother and I have significantly potent auras, but mine is only likened to an average lucario due to my being a riolu – which is also why I'm currently not getting headaches from clashing auras."

"Headaches?" Yuki questioned and Vitae nodded.

"Lucarios and riolus aren't known as aura pokémon for nothing – we can see... fluctuations, if you will," he explained. "When two pokémon with very dense auras are near each other, it can mess with the aura of things around them."

"I see – but that still doesn't explain why you said you'd not get headaches right now; what do you mean by that?" Yuki asked again.

"If I were a lucario right now, my aura would be as monstrous as yours and the two would clash and cause... disturbances," he explained. "Sometimes when the pokémon involved are connected to other pokémon with strong auras, the latter can see things."

 _I see now,_ Yuki thought with a frown. "Things like premonitions, right?" he asked and Vitae nodded.

They both sat without speaking for a moment as Vitae finished off his cup of coffee. "Interesting stuff, huh?" he muttered as he put down the mug. Another moment of silence ensued. The soft tones of the gramophone playing in the background could be heard as Vitae let out a sigh.

"Lewis is your brother, isn't he," Yuki murmured and the riolu gave a nod.

"So it would seem..." he trailed off as he rubbed his eyes with his paws.

"Do you... want the name of the town?" Yuki then asked as Vitae leaned back and stretched, letting out a groan as he did.

"I guess, but I don't want to rush into anything," he responded after a moment. "This is the best lead I've got in a while; I don't want to waste it."

"What do you plan on doing when you find him?" Yuki asked and Vitae shrugged.

"I guess... try to understand," he answered before clapping his paws together. "But that can wait for a moment; we have a more pressing matter to deal with for now."

"Like what?" Yuki asked, confused.

"Well, you know your match against the zoroark?" he asked and Yuki nodded. "Yeah, well, that zoroark isn't just a nobody."

"What do you mean? Is he a famous fighter or something?" Yuki questioned, curious to know the cause of Vitae's concern.

"If only it were that easy," he murmured with a chuckle. "He isn't any renowned fighter, unfortunately."

"I'm not liking where this is going," Yuki commented as he chuckled as well. "So, who is he?" he then asked.

"He's the number three fighter from the Yurei."


	3. Chapter 3

**Petrichor**

 _Chapter Three_

* * *

Once again, Yuki woke. He sat up on the bed and stared at the ground for a couple of moments, his eyes still waking up. He looked at the sunlight peeking through the curtains, taking a deep breath as he did. _Alright._ He stretched his neck and shoulders.

 _Two_ _to go._

* * *

Yuki walked up to the entrance once more, but this day was different compared to the others.

His mind was clouded. He couldn't think straight. He frowned; exasperated and frustrated. It wasn't like him to be so caught up in the present. _I wish I didn't have all this knowledge,_ he thought with a sigh. He didn't really. It was going to come in handy for the future, he just wished he didn't have such an over-thinking mind. _Better to get this over with quickly, then._

Without further delay, he continued into the arena and went through the process of getting to his gate until he found himself before a familiar face once again.

A frown beset his features.

"You're gonna have a tough time today," a monotonous voice came from a certain umbreon, laying atop a broken stone foundation by Yuki's entrance to the arena. He wasn't surprised. He didn't bother looking at her.

"If I can fight evenly with a member of the Preservation Society, I'm certain I can take on a member of the Yurei with relative ease," he told Riley as she let out a yawn.

"Cool," she muttered shortly, her indifference hardly subtle. Yuki stretched out his limbs in anticipation for the imminent fight, ignoring her comment.

 _And the pieces begin to form a coherent painting._ He let out a heavy sigh as the gate opened. He walked towards the entrance before stopping and turning slightly to let their eyes meet. "You're gonna have a tough time tomorrow," he told her before pausing for a moment, turning back around. "I believe that anyone can be saved."

Without another word, he walked into the arena as Riley watched with narrowed eyes. Eventually, she took her focus off him and yawned, laying her head back down on her paws as she closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Yuki had found himself before the zoroark. The entire arena had gone silent when the two came face-to-face, and neither of them said a word. Their eyes were locked. For a second, the sheer intensity of the two caused none to move – even the announcer forgot to start the fight. However, it was only momentary, and within a few seconds, the braixen had lifted the red flag, indicating the start of the battle.

And so it began – but for the two fighters, it had already begun the moment they stood before each other. Yuki had been thinking what his first move should be from the get-go, and despite him not liking rushing in head-first, he knew. Every fiber in his body was telling him that if the fight was prolonged, he wouldn't survive. That was the difference in experience.

Immediately, Yuki's eyes widened and begun to glow, but before he could complete the move, the zoroark had thrown a shadow ball at him and he was forced to dodge and roll to the side. _That was powerful. He would've killed anything below level sixty with that,_ he thought with a frown. He didn't have much time to think because straight away the zoroark had begun to charge a focus blast. His eyes widened as he realised he wouldn't be able to dodge it at the speed he knew the zoroark was capable of, after seeing the earlier shadow ball. Without a second thought, Yuki began to charge up a hyper beam and after mere seconds, they both released their attacks.

For a second, the two attacks collided in mid-air, pausing for a moment, until eventually the focus blast disintegrated and the hyper beam rushed towards the zoroark. He had very little time to react, barely managing to dodge the full force of the attack as it whooshed by him, grazing the side of his torso and destroying the rock that was behind him. He crouched down, holding his bleeding side, as Yuki smiled and repeated the move he attempted earlier.

The zoroark looked up at him, a scowl on his face as he stood up once more and Yuki slowly closed the distance between them. He wasn't afraid, he had the advantage now.

"I'm here to kill... N'Vara..." the zoroark muttered before as he spat out blood. It had become clear to the zoroark by this point. He had underestimated Yuki and was paying the price for it.

"For leaving your merry crew? Does she really deserve to die?" Yuki called out, the smile now gone from his face. The zoroark seemed surprised.

"You know her?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. Yuki simply smiled before he muttered something to the zoroark and almost instantly the look on his face turned to pure rage as he started towards Yuki.

Almost as soon as the zoroark had moved, Yuki had used his psychic to grab him and throw him against a nearby rock where he slumped to the ground, barely moving as dust clouded around them. "So," Yuki began as he walked up to him once more. "You're smart enough to know not to let me use miracle eye on you but dumb enough to try and get close to me after the fact, where my psychic is strongest? A pity," he chided with a smirk. "Surrender."

It wasn't a question. It was a command.

Yet, the zoroark simply grinned maliciously. "I'm smart enough to know when I'm beat, and when I've underestimated my opponent. Next time, you're fucked."

And with that, he vanished. Yuki's eyes widened as he looked around, not finding a trace of the zoroark nor feeling his presence. _Tch._

The dust began to clear, leaving Yuki staring at the rock where the zoroark had been, the feeling of closure he was hoping for... absent.

* * *

"What brings you to Riverwood, lad?"

The midday sun forced the riolu to squint as he looked up at the pokémon talking to him; an ampharos. "I'm looking for someone... can you tell me which way the town tavern is?"

"Gladly," the ampharos replied with a kind smile. "It's just a little bit further down that way on the town's main road, which we're on now. You'll hit it in about five minutes."

"Thank you, kindly," Vitae replied as he gave a short bow and headed towards where the ampharos had directed.

After not too long, he found himself in front of the tavern, causing him to subconsciously grip his satchel strap as he took a breath, reading the words on the top of the building. _The Kindred_.

 _How ironic,_ he thought as he walked up the wooden stairs and opened the saloon-style doors, finding a dimly-lit, unpopulated room with a bunch of tables and chairs, some booths, a small stage, and a stairwell in the corner that was leading up to the second story, which opened up to the lower floor with a balcony around the perimeter. At the table in front of him, there sat an espeon, who was talking animatedly to another riolu, who seemed to be ignoring the former.

"Charlie, you have a guest," the riolu spoke up bluntly without looking up from his book. It took a moment for the espeon to stop talking before she realised, quickly jumping up from her seat, flustered, as she walked up to Vitae.

"I'm _so_ sorry about that!" she apologised enthusiastically with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if the owner was in, I'd like to speak to them," he told her after a moment. _I doubt he'll try to kill me here, so everyone else should be relatively safe._

"Certainly, she's just out back!" the espeon told him with a smile. "Wait here and I'll go grab her for you."

He thanked her and watched as she went away, and let out a sigh. _She. Her. He's not here,_ he thought with a frown as he turned to leave. _Of course, he wouldn't stick around after-_

"Weren't expecting a _she_ , were you?" a voice called out and he turned around to find that the riolu had put his book down and was smiling at him.

"What do you mean?" Vitae asked as he stopped, growing wary.

"No one can remember the old owner, the lucario," he told him and Vitae's eyes widened.

"What do you know about him?" he asked, lowering his voice as he walked over to the table and sat down.

"Not much; I only come in here every now and then to keep Charlie company, but he was the owner for three years, all of which Charlie was working here. Now she can't remember a thing about him and neither can anyone else."

"How long does she think the current owner has been here?" he asked.

"Hold up, let's go elsewhere – you don't want to have to explain to the current owner why you've called her out here for nothing. Vitae paused for a moment as he looked around, making up his mind. He turned back to the riolu and gave a short nod.

Moments later, after they had left, Charlie walked back out with a roserade in tow. To her surprise, she found that neither riolu was there anymore and frowned. "Um, he was just here, he asked for you specifically."

The roserade took a look around the establishment and then peered out the door before turning back to the espeon. "Fuck's sake Charlie, you're useless sometimes!" she told her as she stormed back the way she came.

Charlie gave a sigh as she sat down at the table again, boredom beginning to overcome her once again. _Great. Now_ _Lier_ _has run off with some other riolu and I'm on my own again._ She rested her head on her paws with a groan. _Where's that handsome umbreon when you need_ _him._

* * *

"Judging by your apparent lack of death or injuries, I take it you're into the finals?" Sven called out to Yuki as the latter walked up to the bar, propping himself up on a chair as he slumped on the wooden bench. He gave a groan in response. "How do you feel, knowing you're going to have to fight N'Vara tomorrow?"

"Better than you would think," Yuki responded quickly as he lifted his head. "I met N'Vara today."

Sven's eyes widened and he quickly grew concerned. "Whatever you might think about what he said or how he acted, you cannot trust that it is the truth."

"You shouldn't make assumptions like that, Sven," Yuki told him with a slight smile. "They didn't try to appear friendly or anything or try to coerce me in any way. In fact, they were rather cold and disinterested."

Sven was confused. "So, is there any reason why you are now perfectly happy to fight a cruel and callous creature who cares for nothing other than killing?" he asked and once again Yuki smiled in response.

"N'Vara's got another side, a side that cares for others and their hardships," he told the alakazam, but Sven wasn't convinced.

"It's an act to lure you in, don't let him trap you," he warned but Yuki simply shook his head.

"There's good in N'Vara, I know it," he argued. Before Sven could respond, he quickly added, "and Betha knows it as well."

Sven was taken aback for a moment, surprise written on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to elaborate too much because it's not my story to tell, but I know who N'Vara really is. Because I trust Betha, I trust her faith in N'Vara," he concluded, his tone making it clear that he wanted to speak of it no further.

Sven took a sigh as he backed down. He, too, had faith in Betha. If Yuki was truthful, Sven had no reason to argue further. "Alright..." he trailed off as he turned around and reached for his pour-over kettle. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please," Yuki replied with a breath of relief. _I doubt that N'Vara would bother acting for two whole years,_ he thought as he watched Sven prepare his coffee. _I doubt that the N'Vara you think you know, would care for an old alakazam that lost his mate, feel responsible for it, and do whatever they could to help you because of the fact. And if I told you that, it would be easy for you to agree with me. But that's not my secret to tell._

"So, tell me, how was the fight today?" Sven then asked, bringing Yuki out of his thoughts.

"It went smoother than I expected, given the zoroark I was fighting was from the Yurei," he told him.

"From the Yurei, huh?" Sven muttered, more to himself than anything. "Tricky bunch those are, best to stay away from them as much as possible."

"I try, but it's a little difficult when there's no way out of it," Yuki replied. "There was no other option for me other than to beat him."

"I suppose that's a fair point," Sven commented as he placed a mug of coffee on the bench. Yuki murmured his thanks before Sven continued. "So, what of your riolu friend? You mentioned he might not stick around..."

"Oh, Vitae's gone to Riverwood to deal with some family business. I'm not sure if I'll see him again, but I hope to," Yuki replied with a warm smile. "He was someone I think I could legitimately be friends with."

"Cherish your friendships, Yuki," Sven told him as he leaned on the bar. "Those you trust the most will shape you in this world." Yuki's smile broadened at the random words of wisdom.

"I'll remember that, Sven."

After that, the two continued talking for a short while longer until Yuki left to look around the city once more before his last fight the next day. He visited a couple of cafés, then a few taverns when the night arrived. He wanted to see the city as it was, take in the lives of everyday people. Learn. And in doing so, found the truth. The truth of the tournament. The truth of what it was doing to the city, to the people. The truth of unnecessary violence, aggression, poverty, discrimination, segregation.

He was one step closer to making up his mind.

* * *

"So let me get this straight; your brother was a part of the Preservation Society, right?"

"He was until his membership was revoked after he killed our parents and ran off with the Yurei," Vitae explained to the other riolu, who had sat down against a tree trunk by the river they'd walked to. It was already dark out, yet the cool night air gave neither or them any discomfort. "And you still haven't told me your name."

"Oh, my apologies – I'm Lier," the riolu said as Vitae walked over to the riverbank and gazed into the dark, slowly-flowing water.

"Lier, I believe my brother is innocent," Vitae told him.

"Didn't you say before that the evidence was immutable?" Lier asked. "Not to mention, the aura he gave off seemed to be sinister... I disliked every moment I was around him."

"His body may be guilty but I think that his mind is clear... rather, it wasn't and currently seems to not be..." Vitae thought aloud, pacing the riverbank.

"You think he's been hypnotised?"

"It's the only logical explanation," Vitae answered with a sigh. "He was the kindest, most wonderful individual I knew. Growing up, he was everything I aspired to be. Intelligent, talented, strong-willed but most of all, _kind_."

"So a member of the Yurei has somehow conditioned your brother to become a member himself?" Lier asked and Vitae nodded.

"He was very skilled and very dedicated – they could have use of those skills, so there's a motive for taking him..." he trailed off as he remembered why he was talking to this riolu. "Anyway, is there anything else you can tell me that could give me a hint as to his current whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, the last I saw him was over a fortnight ago, and I hadn't been around to ask what was up until a week ago, when Charlie said something about her 'b _oss the roserade_ ', then I realised something was up. No matter who I asked, it seemed that I was the only one that had been unaffected by the memory purge," Lier told him as Vitae realised something.

"Sanarae isn't capable of doing anything like that... which means that could prove my theory about there being a third party with the ability to affect the mind," he blurted out, excited for his find. "That means that you mustn't have been present when the hypnotising pokémon altered the people of Riverwood's memories?"

"That's true, and I did go away between the time a last saw that lucario and when I came back to find it was like he never even existed," Lier murmured as he thought. "There's a slight possibility we could use that as a lead, but I doubt they'd be careless enough to not erase their presence from the townsfolk's minds as well."

"I guess it'd depend on how prideful they are," Vitae said with a smirk. "When did you go away?" he then asked.

"About a week and a half ago, I went to another city to buy something for Charlie's birthday."

"Alright, well, thanks for all your help Lier, I can go question the townspeople here now and you can get back to Charlie-"

"No, I'll come with you," Lier interjected, watching Vitae intently as he smiled.

"It's fine, I can handle a couple of townsfolk, you helped me enough," Vitae responded with a smile as he began to walk back to the town.

"I mean, I'll come with you to find Sanarae," Lier told him as he stood up from the tree.

"What? Why?" Vitae asked, confused. "We only just met, you don't need to help me, in fact you've already helped me more than enough."

"I'm wasting away," Lier murmured as Vitae focused on him. "I'm suffering a life of boredom but I've never had the courage or motivation to go out and explore and travel on my own. I'm just asking for a temporary partnership – I'll help you look for your brother because I also need to question him about what he did to Charlie. She's a close family friend and the fact that her boss of three years is now no longer within her memory troubles me."

For a moment Vitae thought before he smiled. "Alright. I'd be glad of your company."

"Excellent," Lier replied in turn with a smile.

"Also, I thought Charlie was your mate, my bad," Vitae commented as they both began walking back to the town.

"Nah, she's not my type, even if she weren't a family friend," Lier replied with a laugh.

* * *

When Yuki returned to his room, he was quiet. He had greeted Sven before quickly boding him good night, retiring to his room shortly after. It was midnight. The pale light of the moon pierced the room, casting shadows about the place. Yuki gave a sigh as he moved over to the window and sat down, feeling the moonlight wash over him. He closed his eyes. He breathed deeply, instilling resolve within himself.

When he opened his eyes, the morning sun was breaking. He slowly stood up and stretched, feeling completely restored.

It didn't take him long to make it downstairs, where Sven was waiting for him. He gave a smile at the alakazam, who responded in kind. "The moon's gaze is very good for restoring aura, is it not?"

"How did you know?" Yuki asked him, puzzled.

"When you've seen as many things as me you can just... tell," he replied with a slight grin. "Also, I'm a _psychic_ type, Yuki. You should know that our sense of aura is very strong."

"I know, I just wasn't aware that many knew about the technique," Yuki replied as he sat up on the barstool.

"Who do you think taught Betha?" he asked with another grin. "When you live as long as me, you pick up some of the world's secrets."

"You have a point," Yuki murmured before letting out a sigh. "It'll be all over soon, Sven."

The alakazam looked up from the kettle he was polishing, intrigued. "In what way?"

"After today, there are a few outcomes..." Yuki murmured, suddenly somber. "Either I win against N'Vara and I can save them, then save my sister and hopefully this whole city... or I'll be dead. Thea will never be cured and she'll die with me, N'Vara will continue on and the city will be just as fucked as it is now..."

"Listen, my boy," Sven began, moving closer to Yuki as he set down the kettle. "Never give in to the depravity. I gave in once, and there has never been a point in my life where I don't regret it. Now, if you believe that you can save N'Vara from it, then I want you to pursue that with everything that is in you. Let it drive you, for there is nothing more powerful in this world than hope, Yuki. Hope has guided you here for your sister, now you just need to trust in it."

Yuki was taken aback for a moment from the sudden words from Sven before he smiled, greatly appreciative for the warmth that he now felt. "Thanks, Sven, I... needed that," he replied, looking down at the counter. "I should get going."

"Of course, but first..." Sven replied before he reached under the bench, pulling out a small, carved wooden box. Yuki watched in curiosity as Sven opened the box and pulled out what seemed to be a necklace with some kind of flower on the end. "Do you know what sort of flower this is, Yuki?" he asked as the necklace began to glow and change form. Yuki watched in wonder as it slowly turned into an actual flower as Sven held it out to him. "It's a Gracidea, and this was given to me, undeservingly, by a very special pokémon. It represents purity of heart and gratitude. It has special properties that even I don't fully understand."

"It's beautiful..." Yuki trailed off as he stared at it, watching as it glowed slightly and gave off a pleasant aroma.

"I want you to have it," Sven said and Yuki tore his vision away from the flower to look up at him.

"Sven, I can't take this," he told him, but the alakazam simply smiled. The flower reverted back to the necklace and before Yuki could protest further, Sven had placed it around the umbreon's neck.

"I have no further use for it, I believe that I have to pass it on now to you, Yuki," he told him as the necklace disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Yuki questioned, staring down at his chest.

"I told you, it has special properties," Sven replied. "It's still there, don't worry. It'll make itself known when you need it."

"Sven, I don't know what to say..." Yuki trailed off, feeling overwhelmed.

"Then don't say anything," Sven told him as he placed the box back under the counter. "You've got a tournament to win."

After that, Yuki simply smiled as he jumped off the stool. "Yes, I do," he said as he walked over to the door. "Let's have some celebratory drinks tonight when I return."

With that, Yuki had left the Tabibito and began his journey to the colosseum for the last time. Sven watched as he walked away, sitting down behind the counter as let out a sigh. For some time he sat there, for a time not doing anything. Eventually, he came to a decision. He walked over to the door and grabbed his coat and hat from the hanger before he gave a slight flick of his wrist, turning off the lights in the tavern with a smile. He walked out the door and closed it behind him before locking it, taking a deep breath as he did.

A few moments later, he started off towards the colosseum.

* * *

A blur.

That's all it was for Yuki when he arrived at the arena. The cheering crowd, the hot sun, the dull rock of the colosseum walls. Everything else faded into the background as he was led to his starting area, deep in thought. After the attendant had left him, he sat and closed his eyes.

 _Betha, lend me your strength, and forgive me for what I have to do,_ he pleaded in his head as he slowly opened his eyes, taking a slow breath. _I won't stay away._

"It's time," the attendant told him and Yuki nodded. It wasn't long after that he was walking out in front of the largest crowd he'd seen so far, which made sense. The grand final of any event was always going to bring in the most amount of spectators. The announcer, the blaziken, was going on about having two umbreons in the final.

" _Will we see the newbie win? Or will the savage N'Vara rip him to shreds?_ " he called, causing Yuki to frown.

 _It didn't need to be put like that,_ he thought. _Would she, if she had the opportunity?_ He then asked himself, looking across at 'N'vara'. There stood a very built, shiny umbreon. He wasn't intimidated. He knew what was underneath. _She might,_ he thought before he softened his gaze and a feeling of hope replaced his apprehension. _But she has the capacity to not. I want to believe._

Meanwhile, across from him, 'N'vara' stood and waited, watching. Twitching in anticipation. _He's really pissing me off now_ , she thought as she looked over to Yuki, for a moment their eyes locking as his words played in her head. _I believe_ _that_ _anyone can be saved_. She froze, feeling his gaze pierce deep into her, causing her to scowl as an anger came over her. She then looked behind her to find an eevee sitting against the wall with a smirk on their face. She doesn't react and simply turns away to look at the announcer once more, who had just begun to wrap things up on his pre-match necessities.

Yuki watched in anticipation as the blaziken concluded and stepped forward, ready to announce the start of the match. Riley focused intently on the podium through her scowl, eager to fight and get it over with.

In the stands, there were some slight apologetic murmurs as an alakazam made their way through the spectators before eventually sitting down, removing their coat with a deep breath.

" _Begin!"_

* * *

 **Follow me on twitter for updates at tlphoenix_**


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